Battle of Chicken & Waffles in Oakland

[kachoo]

I know of 2 places that have chicken and waffles in Oakland:

1. House of Chicken and Waffles (HoCW) in Jack London Square
2. Merritt Bakery by Lake Merritt

I've been to HoCW, and their chicken is great as is their friendly service. I've heard that the C&W at Merritt Bakery is really good, but I can't stand going to that place even when it's late night and I need some grease in my belly. I've been there once..and I don't think I'd go back. The service is just awful, and the their menus items are bleh.

My boss wants to take his daughter out for some good southern fried chicken....anyone have a preference between the 2?.....or perhaps another suggestion?

[Mission]

Two places to avoid for Fried Chicken:

Brown Sugar Kitchen

And

Casa Orinda.

Both have a lot of hype...both are really lame.

If you hit Merritt Bakery on a good day it can be pretty good.

[lexdevil]

Guess I've never hit them on a good day.

[BernalKC]

Check out Lois the Pie Queen. I have not had breakfast there, nor waffles, but their fried chicken is highly recommended. If their waffles are as good as their biscuits....

[spinn1]

Merrit's, definitely. Who cares what's on the menu, if you're having C&W. HoCaW waffles aren't usually too crispy. But I like their side offerings better than Merrit's.

For just fried chicken, you can also try Dorsey's Locker or Nellie's. Pican's was OK too.

[lexdevil]

Brown Sugar Kitchen is the best. Not traditional, a little spendy, but the best. The corn waffle is amazing. When I first heard it was corn I thought it would be heavy. So wrong! It's light as air.